Northern Tier

I saw my friends band Koka in a backyard in City Terrace. The guys house was holding something called ‘Noisefest’ in which five (maybe six) bands were performing throughout the night. Curiously, the headliner played first leading me to believe one band dropped out. I had just played a DIY venue the night before. I’d be playing another the day after so by the weekend I was DIY’d out.

These kinds of gigs were never sacrosanct but what makes them cool is that they exist from necessity. they take who plays there seriously. They’re safe spaces. The “real” venues and such are hard to get into. You need agents, promoters, clout, guaranteed audience. Aside from that you need hours of rehearsal time and the tightness that comes with good songs and crafted performance. I’m not saying there should be more backyard shows with free pizza but I am saying that these places are important. It’s a place to play and we always need places to play at every level.

It’s important that bands get out there in environments that can easily turn hostile. What you’re playing might not work in the crowd you’re playing to but you learn a lot by having a bad show. About as much as you learn from playing a good one. Anyway, Koka killed. I got footage and everything to prove it. Edith’s voice betrays her physical form. They took Selena, made her about five feet tall and 90lbs with rock-filled pockets, and added the vocal quality of Gwen Stefani until the mold broke. Atticus does on the drums what we’d expect any pro to do: he shows up and plays. If he makes a mistake he does it twice so the audience suspects nothing. He plays like it’s his last show ever, hanging on for dear life as every song seems to run at +120bpm. Maybe the sunglasses help.

I probably won’t be going to a backyard show with an alleyway entrance anytime soon but getting into and reminding myself of these spaces is guaranteed to keep the passion for them alive.